Ball Lightning Strikes Outside Florida Dream Homes Office

On Tuesday September 1st, 2009 at approximately 5:15pm a dual confirmed sighting of a Ball Lightning strike was witnessed about 50 yards directly in front of the Florida Dream Homes office at 5511 W. Irlo Bronson Hwy., Kissimmee, FL 34746.

Those are the facts. Let’s look at the experience…

Mrs. LanceAround, # 1 Daughter and I were sitting with Anne, our Office Manager, in the Florida Dream Homes office. # 1 daughter was doing some work for us on the computer while Anne, Mrs. LanceAround and I were discussing business. A few moments earlier we had heard a thunder crack that was so loud we looked to see if two trucks had collided on the highway outside the office. We were in the midst of one of those Florida torrential downpours. The frequent lightning bolts caused Anne and Mrs. LanceAround to continually glance out the front windows.

Suddenly, there was a distinct buzz in the air. I noticed that Mrs. LanceAround and Anne were staring out the front window with their mouths agape. I could not see out the front, but I was fixated by a strange, wavy-blue image that flashed for well over a second on the wall above Anne’s head.

A moment later the blue image disappeared and the two women said in almost perfect unison, “Did you see that?”

Fast forward to later that night…

At home, we continued to talk about the strange phenomenon that Mrs. LanceAround witnessed earlier that evening. # 1 daughter did a Wikipedia search on glowing lightning strikes and soon discovered this entry about “ball lightning.” Everyone was shocked to read the line, “…until recently, ball lightning was often regarded as a fantasy or hoax,…” (Wikipedia.org’s entry on Ball lightning.) Further reading the description left no doubt in Mrs. LanceAround’s mind–she actually witnessed the phenomenon known as “Ball lightning.”

We quickly called Anne at home and had her read the entry in Wikipedia. “My God!” she exclaimed.

The next morning at the office, I insisted that Anne and Mrs. LanceAround record their observations of the incredible event they witnessed the evening before. So for the lucky readers of my blog, here are two eyewitness accounts written just hours after the viewing of a such a rare event:

Anne’s Testimony:

I have been privileged to witness a rare phenomenon, ball lightning. During a recent thunderstorm as I watched the rain come down in sheets I saw the brightest blue orb hang in the air for a couple of seconds and then it was gone. It had to be the most spectacular and beautiful natural occurrence that I have ever witnessed.

Mrs. LanceAround’s Testimony:

I witnessed one of the most amazing sights I’ve ever seen in my entire fifty eight years. I happened to be looking out our office windows when a thunderstorm began. I suddenly was staring at a huge, glowing ball of fire that seemed to be continuously fed by lightning strikes. It was suspended above the ground at the height of the electrical wires strung along the street directly in line with one of our large store front windows. I was so stunned by the sight I couldn’t speak! I waited for some cataclysmic explosion that never occurred. After a few seconds there was a loud bang and the ball of fire disappeared.

And while I did not directly witness the phenomenon, here is my testimony of the event.

LanceAround’s Testimony:

I was speaking with Anne and Mrs. LanceAround when I noticed that they suddenly began to stare out the front windows with their mouth’s open and unable to speak. I saw a swath of blue light reflecting off the wall above Anne’s head, like the shimmering shadow of reflected water. It lasted for only a second or two. A moment later, both Anne and Mrs. LanceAround asked aloud, “Did you see that?” All three of us walked to the front of the store. Anne was clearly giddy and said she wanted it to happen again. They described to me a large, bluish orb that appeared to emanate from the bottom of a lightning strike in the front of the trees located across the highway from our storefront. The orb was described as around six to eight feet in diameter and might have been on or near some electrical wires, a light pole or the grove of trees in that vicinity. It appeared to hover about 10 to 20 feet off the ground and lasted for a couple of seconds–much longer than a lightning strike lasts. The orb shimmered and appeared to have pulsating lightning-like streaks within itself.

Ball Lightning, hoax or reality? Fact or fiction? The definitive answer is: Ball lightning is a REAL phenomenon. Mrs. LanceAround and Anne have SEEN it and have TESTIFIED that it exists. Now the readers of my blog can speak with authority and confidence–There IS such a thing as ball lightning and it is WONDROUS!

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This entry was posted on September 4, 2009 at 4:10 pm and is filed under Misc.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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